Lincoln Cent Key Dates & Varieties
The longest-running US design and the series that hooks most collectors. A handful of key dates and a few famous doubled dies are where the value — and the fun — live.
Bottom Line: A Wheat-cent date set (1909–1958) is one of the great beginner projects — most dates cost cents. The 1909-S VDB, 1914-D, 1922 No-D, and the 1955 Doubled Die are the four that define the series.
The key dates
| Date | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| 1909-S VDB | The famous key — only 484,000 struck before the designer's initials were pulled. Full story. |
| 1914-D | A genuine low-mintage Denver key, heavily counterfeited — buy it graded. |
| 1909-S (no VDB) | First-year San Francisco issue; scarcer than its mintage suggests. |
| 1931-S | Depression-era low mintage; an affordable semi-key. |
| 1924-D, 1926-S | Better dates that get expensive in higher grades. |
The famous varieties
1955 Doubled Die Obverse
The most famous US error — dramatic doubling visible to the naked eye on the date and lettering. A five-figure coin in mint state, and the variety that made error collecting mainstream.
1922 "No D"
All 1922 cents were struck at Denver, but a worn die produced coins with no visible mintmark — a recognized, valuable variety (insist on the "strong reverse" die pairing).
1969-S & 1972 Doubled Dies
Later doubled-die cents that command strong premiums — proof the series keeps producing collectible varieties.
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